Canadian Olympic gold medalists Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin won World Cup speed skating medals in Heerenveen, Netherlands this past weekend. Weidemann won a silver medal in the women’s 5000 metres on Friday, and Blondin won the bronze medal in the women’s 1500 metres on Saturday.
Weidemann had a time of 6:50.11. Ragne Wiklund of Norway won the gold medal with a time of 6:49.02. Joy Beune of the Netherlands won the bronze medal with a time of 6:51.83. Weidemann reached the podium by 2.13 seconds. Sandrine Tas of Belgium finished in fourth place with a time of 6:52.24. This is the first and only women’s 5000 metre World Cup event of the speed skating season.
Blondin had a time of 1:53.43. Joy Beune of the Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 1:53.1. Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong won the silver medal with a time of 1:53.36. Blondin reached the podium by 0.37 seconds. Brittany Bowe of the United States finished in fourth place with a time of 1:53.80.
In the World Cup women’s 1500 metre standings, Blondin is in sixth place with 109 points. Beune leads with 180 points. Blondin and Weidemann were part of the Canadian team that won the gold medal in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The silver medal for Weidemann and the bronze medal for Blondin will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.